One of my earliest memories when it comes to fragrances is going with my mum to buy Britney Spears’ Curious perfume in 2004, when I was eight. The excitement of going down to The Perfume Shop to sample the latest goodies, holding the delicate blue crystal bottle in my little hands, and feeling very grown up as I spritzed myself.
Years later, however, and celebrity scents have lost their sparkle a bit. My colleague and I were determined to find out if there are any good fragrance options released by celebs in this day and age – or has the day of the pop singer sponsored smell passed us by?
Celebrity Big Brother star Donna Preston might not have owned a perfume, but she smells divine and people recognise her scent with a distinctive fruit note. And she revealed her favourite perfumes are from chess-inspired brand Mind Games.
She shared: “I’m obsessed with a good fragrance and Mind Games has become one of my favourites. Life’s too short to smell boring! I want a perfume that walks into the room before I do and makes people ask, ‘What are you wearing?’ These do exactly that.
“Queening makes me feel like I’ve got my life together… even when I absolutely haven’t! Lionora is warm, luxurious and the kind of scent that makes me keep sniffing my own wrist all day. They’re both completely different, but they’re both proper confidence boosters and I honestly love wearing them.”
I have to admit the first thing I was drawn to about Ariana’s Cloud perfume is the bottle. Set on a puffy white plastic cloud base, the cumulus-shaped spritzer has a quirky, fun vibe – but still manages to scream elegance.
The scent itself is gorgeous, blending lavender blossom, juicy pear and bergamot together with a “whipped touch of Crème de Coconut”, praline and vanilla orchid. You’ll also get “sensual musks and creamy woods” – notes that all come through straight from the first spray.
The beauty mogul expanded her makeup range to fragrance two years ago, and it’s been hugely popular among fans. The Cosmic, as Kylie told Glamour, is a scent that feels immediately comforting and delicious. Featuring her favourite notes, star jasmine and vanilla musk, the amberly floral perfume is “sweet, warm, delicious, and completely intoxicating”.
I agreed that the Cosmic is somehow comforting, and I think the hint of peonies reminded me of home. The opening was slightly too sweet for my liking, but when it settled, I started to enjoy it.
Rihanna is notoriously known for smelling divine as people in the industry like Lil Nas X and Nicole Kidman reportedly said she “smells like heaven”. The Fenty Eau de Parfum gives a warm floral scent of magnolia, Bulgarian rose and musk. Kudzi Chikumbu, known as Sir Candle Man on social media, says the Fenty fragrance is underrated.
He said on his YouTube channel: “I think blueberries are gorgeous. I think it has a great kind of patchouli, musk together. They say Rihanna spent a long time developing it. She went to Grasse [which is known as the perfume capital of the world] to learn about the ingredients and the manufacturing, and it’s one of those fragrances that when she launched it, I’m like ‘it’s cool, it’s unique, one of a kind’.”
I was drawn to the packaging - the dark, rich brown tones exude elegance and the fragrance is a reminder of warm summer with light breeze in a field. It’s lovely and long-lasting, and the travel-size comes with a fancy twist-and-spray container.
Khloe Kardashian is also known to wear her own perfume. Having launched her first solo fragrance in 2024, XO, she is now launching a new addition, XO Blue, which she has been wearing for summer.
The blue fragrance bottles tropical, solar notes of bergamot, frangipani, magnolia and woody coconut. It lingers like the memory of a vacation you never want to end.
Other than her own perfume, the reality star has previously mentioned that the first perfume she ever wore was Thierry Mugler Angel. She told the Independent: “I wore it in middle school and it’s not a scent I would wear currently, but when I smell it, it immediately takes me back in time.”
The XO blue is lighter than the original XO perfume, which is perfect for a summer scent. Over time, the scent of magnolia lingers on the skin like wearing a light veil in a hot summer day.
It has long since been recommended to avoid gourmand perfumes in the summer, and when it comes to Sabrina Carpenter’s Lemon Pie, I can’t agree more. Though served up in a delicious chocolate bar-style bottle in trendy butter yellow, the scent is so overpowering that it’ll leave you smelling like a lemon cake all day.
And no, that isn’t a good thing. There is a reason many shops are offering discounts on this particular fragrance – it’s simply not very nice. Lemon Pie opens with a citrus “triple threat” of lemon, Italian bergamot and Neroli, with a dash of Limoncello, jasmine, orange blossom and violet.
The worst is yet to come with the base layer of vanilla bean, liquid sugar and a Graham Cracker crust “like whipped cream over a slice of pie”.
To be fair to the Espresso hitmaker, I haven’t tried her other offerings (Sweet Tooth, Caramel Dream and Cherry Baby) but after sampling Lemon Pie I’m not sure I want to…
Okay, this one isn’t strictly a celebrity fragrance, but it’s close enough. Floral Street released its own Bridgerton perfume to tie in with the Netflix show, and it’s just what you’d expect if you imagine parading through English gardens in the 1800s.
With top notes of fresh pear, hazelnut and gardenia, and heart notes of honeyed Centifolia rose, you’re transported right into nature without being overpowered. Musk and sweet cedarwood provide the base notes here, and it’s the perfect scent for spring and summer.
